Jumping back in after 1 1/2 years away- Need some advice!

New Member

I have been out of the hobby for 1 1/2 years now and want to dive back into it but want to do a Marine tank for the 1st time. I have a ton of experience with Freshwater fish spanning from simple fish such as Guppies to my personal favorite Discus fish and Gold nugget plecos.

This time around I want to set up my goals and get some advice from people who have been in the salt water hobby. My goals are as follows.

Goals
- I want to setup my 37 Gallon tank of which the dimensions are the following

Size: 37 Gallons; 30 in L x 12 in W x 22 in H

- I want to have at least two clownfish in the tank

- I want use dry rock assist with the biological filter biologically filter my tank. (Will cure it by placing the dry rock into a bucket of heated salt water with a power head for a month or 2 to ensure that any organics dissipate in the bucket. I'll test this and change out the water on a weekly basis)

- I want to only have to clean the tank no more than once a week with a preference toward once every 2 weeks.

- I want to have "hardy fish"(for lack of a better term) that don't have a highly specialized diet.

-I want to use chlorinated NYC tap water and not RO water

- I want to only use dry rock with a canister or hang on back filter to assist with the filtering process.

- I would NOT like to have any difficult fish and would not like to have any corals, polyps, saltwater plants, ETC. would only like to have fish only with cured Live rock.

- I would NOT like to use live rock because of potential hitchhiker's that can be on the rock. (I hate the look of bristle worms)

Have a few questions below.

Is this doable?

Should I preventive deworm my fish during the quarantine process?

This is an important question!I had an awful experience with a Parasitic nematode: callamanus worms. It wiped out most of my stock.

What other fish would you guys recommend? (Please consider the dimensions of my 37 gallon)

30 in L x 12 in W x 22 in H

How much live rock should I place in the tank?

Based on your experience how often would I have to clean the tank? ( I understand that it's going to be based on my tanks bio-load but I am not sure how much of a bio-load these fish would bring. Since you guys have experience with these fish I was hoping that you can provide advice.)

Can I use a Freshwater API kit to test my cycle?

Is it okay if I use my canister filter or should I use a hang on back filter? What should be my GPH rate?

Below are the list of supplies that I currently have

-37 gallon Tank and stand
- Led lighting that can switch between white and a midnight blue (Not sure of the lumens but it's mild lighting)
- Canister filter rated for 55 gallons (it's been a while so I am unsure of the GPH but it was good for a 55 gallon fresh water tank)
- A couple of hang on back filters (various ratings on GPH)
- multiple heaters
- a wave maker
- a bunch of other tanks (great for quarantine)
- Various other items that would only be relevant to Freshwater tanks.

Please let me know your guy's thoughts on this as I'm excited to jump back into the hobby.

Well-Known Member

best get the api marine test kit but the FW test kits will work in salt as well. Ph should be the high range test kit as marine pH is over 8.

I would start the tank with macro algae (like chaetomorphia) using a 1/4" square plastic grid (egg crate) as a partition. And add some side lighting to get the macros thriving.

Start the tank with the macros then let is settle down for a week and add a single male molly. Don't add food for a week then start feeding a single flake per day. After 3-4 weeks the tank should be ready for the more expensive marine only fish.

The macros will balance out and stabilize the system by consuming ammonia first then nitrates, plus phosphates, and co2 while returning fish food and oxygen.

You might have to scrape alage off the glass every week or two and replace evaporative losses. Not need to do water changes.

New Member

best get the api marine test kit but the FW test kits will work in salt as well. Ph should be the high range test kit as marine pH is over 8.

I would start the tank with macro algae (like chaetomorphia) using a 1/4" square plastic grid (egg crate) as a partition. And add some side lighting to get the macros thriving.

Start the tank with the macros then let is settle down for a week and add a single male molly. Don't add food for a week then start feeding a single flake per day. After 3-4 weeks the tank should be ready for the more expensive marine only fish.

The macros will balance out and stabilize the system by consuming ammonia first then nitrates, plus phosphates, and co2 while returning fish food and oxygen.

You might have to scrape alage off the glass every week or two and replace evaporative losses. Not need to do water changes.